


Internet Identity

by Pearl_Unplanned



Series: Cap_Ironman Bingo 2015 [22]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Artist Steve, Cap_Ironman Bingo, M/M, Non-powered AU, Stony Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 10:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5824351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iron_Man asks Captain_America if he wants to meet up. They've been internet friends for a while now, so maybe meeting up would be a good idea. Non-powered AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Internet Identity

**Author's Note:**

> Bingo: (Social) Media  
> All of the bingos. :D

 

            The beeping of his phone was what drew Steve's attention away from the canvas that he was currently working on. While he could've sworn that he'd turned it off, he was thankful for the distraction, and quickly abandoned the almost completely blank canvas so that he could instead attend to the conversation he was having with a complete stranger.

            Iron_Man: _Cap, I'm bored. You know how I mentioned meeting up earlier? We should totally do that sometime soon._

            Steve just chuckled at the message before typing back, _You're always bored, Iron_Man. Another business meeting?_

            He didn't know too much about his internet friend. They both lived in New York City, which was pretty cool because there was a chance that they'd passed each other on the streets without even knowing it. Steve liked the idea that he'd seen Iron_Man's face before, even if he hadn't known it. Iron_Man was a businessman, and his internet friend knew that he, 'Captain_America', was an artist. He didn't feel like telling Iron_Man that he was actually the creator of the comics that both of their usernames had come from, since that would tell Iron_Man exactly who he was.

            _The Avengers_ was the comic series that he'd become famous with, though that had since led to standalone comics for all of the team. Currently he was working on a series where Iron Man's secret identity would be revealed, but the issue was that no matter how many times he drew the man, he couldn't figure out what his face was supposed to look like. It never seemed to fit.

            Iron_Man: _Yes! I've got too many this morning, and I just want to sneak away already._

            "I thought you were working on that next comic of yours." Steve jumped a little upon hearing Bucky's voice. He hadn't expected his roommate-slash-best friend to be back just yet.

            "I was," Steve said, shrugging. "I was just... You know that guy I've been talking with online for a while? We've been talking about meeting up sometime."

            Steve couldn't say that he was exactly surprised by Bucky's disapproving look. "What do you know about the guy? What if he's some kind of creep? If you do meet up with him, because I know you and you're not going to listen to a thing I'm saying about not meeting him, you better meet him in a public place. Get a description of what he's wearing, and don't tell him anything about you until you're able to decide if he's a crazy guy or not."

            "Good idea," Steve said. _Maybe meeting up would be a good idea._

            Iron_Man answered back almost instantly. _Really? Great! My meeting will be done in about an hour. New comic books come out today, as I'm sure you're aware seeing that your username is a comic book character's name. Want to meet up there?_

_Sure,_ Steve replied back. "Is a comic book shop public enough for you?"

            Bucky seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding. He crashed down onto the couch, dropping the bag that he'd been carrying. "You know I just want to make sure you're safe."

            "I know, Buck, you've been doing it since we were kids," Steve said, plopping down onto the couch beside his friend. "You've got nothing to worry about. If I like him, I'll let you meet him. If I think he seems like a bad guy, I'll text you to come get me. Okay?"

            "Sounds good," Bucky said, sighing. Steve knew that Bucky had seen him get hurt and get sick far too many times when they were younger, so it wasn't like Bucky was worrying for nothing. He just hated worrying his friend. It had been so long since either had had to worry about Steve's sicknesses, so Steve hated feeling like he was worrying his friend now.

            Iron_Man: _I'll be the handsome stranger with the red baseball cap and sunglasses._

            Steve just grinned, and Bucky sighed again.

            "I'll turn my alarm on loud, but I gotta get ta bed, kid. Late shift last night, and I'm exhausted," Bucky yawned. Steve helped him to his feet, and once he was sure that Bucky would get to his bed, Steve picked up Bucky's mechanic's bag from the ground, taking it over to the closet. Poor Buck had been working late shifts lately, and Steve knew that he worked hard. He also knew that if his phone went off, Bucky would be awake instantly, because he was the lightest sleeper that Steve had ever met before.

            Steve glanced back at his phone, sending Iron_Man a confirmation, before he went back over to his blank canvas. Steve smiled.

 

            It had been an hour, and Steve knew that he would've had to give Iron_Man a chance to get to the comic book shop--they'd talked about their favorites long ago and figured out which one they'd meet up at, if they were to ever go comic shopping together, so that's where Steve went. There were no cap-wearing men in the store, but there were quite a few people, so it did make him feel safer knowing that. Steve couldn't help but glance at his phone some, waiting for when Iron_Man might walk in.

            When he looked back over at the door, a man walked inside, bright red and gold baseball cap on his head, dark sunglasses on his face. A moment later, the man looked down, like he was looking at his phone, before Steve's phone buzzed in his hand.

            Iron_Man: _I completely forgot to ask for an identifying mark._

            Captain_America: _I see you, don't worry._

            Steve watched the man out of the corner of his eye as he started flipping through one of the back issue long boxes. The man looked around, trying to figure out who just texted him, then grinned regardless, melting into the crowd. While he couldn't exactly see the man's eyes, Steve couldn't deny that he was a very attractive man. Steve moved through the crowd until he made his way over to the man.

            "Come here often?" The words just slipped out. Steve hadn't meant to say anything to him just yet.

            "Not as often as I would like to," the man admitted. "But if I can't get here on Wednesdays, then I send someone here, because I can't miss out on..." The man reached up, plucking the new _The Avengers_ comic from the new shelf. "...any of the new _Avengers_ comics." Holding the book in his left hand, the man extended his other hand to Steve. "My name's Tony."

            "Steve," he replied instinctively, shaking Tony's hand.

            "But I know you more as Captain_America, right?" Tony asked, smirking.

            Steve nodded, surprised that he'd figured it out.

            "I noticed you watching me when I walked in, and you made your way over," Tony explained, flipping through the pages before he glanced over at Steve, grinning. "Plus, I was very sure that if I texted you, your phone would go off. You were checking your phone up until the point when I actually walked into the store."

            "Yeah... I just wanted to make sure that you were coming, and you didn't decide to cancel..." Steve murmured, shrugging. "So, you, uh... really like _The Avengers_ comics?"

            "Yeah, it's my favorite comic series. The guy who writes this, Rogers, he's got some really good stories going on. I know that the new _Iron Man_ series is comic out soon, and I _can't wait_ ," Tony said, sounding completely like a fanboy. "What's your favorite series? And how exactly do you feel about _The Avengers_ comics? Because I totally won't judge if you don't like them, a good friend of mine is a DC fan, but with the username of Captain_America, I'm guessing that you're a fan, hmm?"

            "Yeah, about that... I, actually, um..." Steve held up a copy of the newest comic. He wrote the story long ago, and had a colorist. He did the art, his colorist did the color, and other artists did covers, but the actual art and story was all Steve. He'd been writing the story since he started college, though the comic really took off once he'd graduated, and Marvel Comics had decided to publish it.

            Before he was able to say anything else, Steve recognized the man in front of him. "Oh my God, you're Tony _Stark_ ," he whispered, because he guessed that the famous, powerful businessman probably didn't want that to be shouted in a room full of strangers.

            The look on Tony's face changed. "Yeah.... um, that's me. And now that you know me, you probably don't want to continue talking, huh? Guess I'll just get this comic and go." He looked so crestfallen, and Steve realized that being anonymous usernames on social media websites was probably a perk for him, because then people wouldn't be judging him based on any gossip magazines or anything. That's why Steve stayed away from the media as best he could, not even putting his picture on his author and artist bio page.

            "Wait, no! Don't go, I didn't mean anything by it. I just saw you on the cover of that magazine... the one about geniuses and what they're inventing right now. You're a real inspiration, Mr. Stark," Steve insisted. Tony Stark _definitely_ wasn't the only reason why he read those science magazines. Definitely not.

            He groaned. "Tony... call me Tony. Enough people call me Mr. Stark."

            "Tony," he said, and that seemed to make the man in front of him a little happier. It felt more natural. "You've inspired more people than you know, Tony. You're a _genius_."

            "Regardless of how intelligent I am... You're not scared away by the risky public profile I've been keeping?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

            "I don't listen to gossip," Steve said, shrugging. He'd heard about how Tony had been in many newspapers and gossip magazines, but he liked to judge people on how they acted, not what people said about them. "I make my own decisions about people."

            Tony seemed to consider that for a moment, like he didn't believe what Steve was saying, before he nodded. "Okay. So, person to person, Rogers is a genius, hmm? The storylines are amazing, his characters are brilliant, and the art is phenomenal. I'd call that genius, too."

            "I wouldn't go as far to say genius, but..." Steve mumbled, bowing his head in embarrassment as he shrugged.

            "Why? Do you know the guy? Is his name even Steve Rogers? Is..." Tony broke off there, pausing, pondering, before he looked over at Steve with wide eyes. " _You're_ Steve Rogers?"

            Again, his face seemed to glow with embarrassment as he nodded. "Yeah, I, uh, write the comics... and draw them." He shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly call it _genius_. It's hard work, and I _do_ enjoy it."

            "And that's why you're not buying a copy," Tony said. "You probably already have tons, right?"

            Steve _did_ keep a running collection of all of his work. He liked to look at it and see how far his art and story-telling had progressed. But he _did_ collect far too many other comics. He shrugged, and Tony just chuckled.

            "Well, this is a face that should be showing up much more in the media, hmm?" Tony said, smirking.

            Steve quickly shook his head. "I've been trying to stay _out_ of the media. Once you're in, you can never get out."

            Tony laughed, leading Steve over towards the back of the store, where many of the back issues were. Most people were just there for the most recent issues, so they were in a more secluded area. "Of believe me, I know that. I know how impossible it is to stay out of the media. No matter what I do, I'm in the media. So if your goal is to stay away, I'm the last person you want to be seen with."

            "I like talking with you," Steve mumbled, shrugging, before he started to thumb through the back issues from a Marvel series that he had missed out on. "Maybe we could... meet up again, to talk sometime?"

            Tony raised an eyebrow at him. "Could that talking maybe include something like dinner?"

            "It could," Steve said.

            "Great," Tony said, and Steve liked the way that he grinned. It looked so unlike the smirk that Tony usually wore in those gossip magazines. "Could I pick you up around seven?"

            "You don't know where I live," Steve pointed out.

            "I could pick you up here," Tony replied. Steve grinned, nodding.

            "I could do that," Steve murmured. "Friday? And just because I know who you are now doesn't mean that I want to stop talking online. I really, _really_ enjoy the conversations that we have, Tony. And I won't give away your secret identity, I promise."

            "Good," Tony laughed. "I'm like one of your superheroes, I can't have my identity known to the public."

 

            Friday couldn't come around fast enough. Steve promised Bucky that he could meet Iron_Man some other time, after he talked with him some more. The date went wonderful. Their second date, Tony wanted to meet Bucky. Turns out, Bucky actually liked him.

 

            When staring at the blank face of Iron Man, trying to draw the reveal of his face, Steve had an idea. He'd have to ask Tony for permission first, but he was pretty sure Tony would love the idea. (Tony did _not_ cry with shock and fanboyish happiness. There was definitely something stuck in his eye.)

 

            Captain_America _has changed his relationship status to_ In a Relationship _with_ Iron_Man.


End file.
